Although dolphins have a playful reputation, there are a few reasons that illustrate that they are more dangerous than sharks. Sharks are prime predators in the oceans, however, they are afraid of dolphins as they attack lonely sharks in the pod.
A single pod can contain 10 – 1000 dolphins that can even circle around sharks and try to attack them from every side. In such situations, sharks cannot escape and may get injured or even killed.
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Why Are Dolphins More Dangerous Than Sharks?
Dolphins usually like to torture their food before eating it. This is something more dangerous. For instance, an octopus is a dangerous animal and has its own way of protecting itself. Therefore, a dolphin has to be very careful if it wants to eat the octopus.
Due to this, the dolphin can beat the octopus by throwing it here and there, smashing him into small pieces before eating it.
A wild dolphin is even more dangerous for humans. However, we are great at making friends. Therefore, we can make them friends as well. Still, you need to be very careful. It also shows how smart dolphins are.
To be honest, a dolphin’s behaviour is very complicated. Some of them are very calm and others are very unpredictable and aggressive.
Many studies claim that dolphins kill other animals and humans just for fun. And the only reasons behind this is competition over food sources or high sex drive.
Talking about dolphins and shark attacks, shark attacks are more common. Still, dolphin attacks are very very rare. This is because dolphins are smarter and more curious than sharks. They interact more with people than sharks.
Can Dolphins Attack Humans?
Yes, there is a fair chance for a dolphin to attack humans. There are a few cases of humans being attacked by dolphins. They are very mysterious. Their friendly temper is usually misinterpreted.
Out of disturbance or aggression dolphins can attack you. Although they are social animals, they are still wild creatures. This is why you need to treat them with respect, love, and caution.
Difference Between Dolphin and Shark
| Characteristics | Dolphin | Shark |
| Size | Length: 6 feet – 13 feet
Weight: 200 – 600 lbs |
Length: 11 feet – 21 feet
Weight: 1000 – 1.2 tons |
| Teeth | 80 to 100 sharp and conical teeth | Around 50 teeth in first row and 300 in total |
| Bite Power | Less than 500 PSI | 4000 PSI |
| Speed | 6 mph – 20 mph | 20 mph – 35 mph |
| Movement | Up and down motion with the tail to move forward | Side-to-side movement with tail |
| Defences | Huge pod size
Good swimming speed |
Huge size
Great swim speed |
| Senses | Good sense of hearing and vision
No smell sense |
Good vision day and night
Great listener of low frequencies Good sense of smell |
| Fighting Capabilities | Rams with snout
Sharp bites that leave serious cuts |
Huge bite power
Fast swimmer Triangular teeth |
7 Disturbing Facts About Dolphins
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Attack
Whether you are new to a dolphin, or it knows you for years, a dolphin can still attack you. As we already discussed, dolphins are very unpredictable, territorial, and moody, you need to take extra precautions. A dolphin’s attack can harm you severely leading to multiple fractures, injuries, and post-traumatic stress as well.
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Bite
Dolphins such as bottlenose(which is very common) have 80 to 100 sharp teeth that can easily rip off their prey’s skin. However, they can do this with you as well.
Moreover, fisheries.noaa.gov says that there are multiple cases of dolphin bites occurring. They just pull people underwater. That is why you must start taking extra precautions while dealing with a dolphin.
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Multiple ways to hunt
Dolphins know very unusual methods to hunt down their prey when they are very hungry. In the shallow waters, they usually have a unique way to hunt prey. A group of dolphins stir up the mud in a circular motion with the help of their powerful tails and trap other fishes inside.
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Hunt in big groups
Usually, a pod has around 10 to 15 dolphins swimming together. However, you can even witness a group of 1000 or more dolphins hunting together to get food.
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Dolphins torture their prey before eating
It is true! They torture their prey before eating. Torture in the sense, they beat them up. For instance, octopuses are the prime prey for dolphins.
They beat them up before killing and consuming them. However, octopuses also have their defense mechanism even after they are no more.
Dolphins that plan to kill and eat octopus can even end up getting killed. This is why they break the octopus into smaller pieces and consume it.
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They kill others for fun
We already know that animals kill other animals for their survival. There is a survival instinct.
However, the same is not the case with dolphins. They kill others for fun. Sounds scary right? But this is true.
The New York Times says that they kill other creatures in water with their sharp teeth just to have fun.
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(This is the scariest) Dolphins kill each other’s babies
It is very evident that adult dolphins kill other younger dolphins. According to a study from Virginia, it was recorded that 9 baby dolphins died due to serious blunt-force trauma in 2002.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would say that sharks always have an image of being water monsters and dolphins have an image as friendly cute creatures.
However, this is not true in every instance. Dolphins are not fully exposed yet. Dolphin attack cases are very rare, however, the present ones are very dangerous.
The most shocking part is dolphins kill others just for fun. They kill younger dolphins and violently force female dolphins to mate. They also attack humans by hitting them with their powerful snouts. Still, they are loved by many.
Dolphins do not attack humans frequently. They are just moody. Therefore, it is better to maintain a safe distance from them to prevent these kinds of incidents. You cannot predict their mood. They are friendly, and kill others for fun as well as to eat. So you really cannot tell your fate in front of a dolphin.
I hope you enjoyed the article. I will be back soon with more interesting and informative pieces of writing. Till then stay connected. Thank you.
Frequently asked questions
Can a dolphin kill a shark?
Yes, a dolphin can kill a small shark. They use their powerful snouts to ram sharks and injure them. Dolphins usually target their gills and underbellies to harm them to the fullest. Therefore, small sharks are an easy target for dolphins as they can easily torture smaller sharks and kill them.
Are sharks friendlier than dolphins?
Earlier, sharks were friendlier to us than dolphins. We did not have any kind of threats from the sharks. On the other hand, dolphins were very stuck up. They would not come close to humans.
Will a dolphin hurt a human?
Yes, they surely can. Dolphins have a very cute and friendly image among humans. Due to this, we have forgotten their original predatory nature. They are complex hunters that can cause serious injuries to humans and each other. They are also known for severely hurting humans by hitting their powerful snouts hard on the humans.
Can a dolphin save you from a shark?
The answer is yes. Dolphins can keep swimmers safe from sharks. There is a true incident where the dolphins saved a group of swimmers. For around 40 minutes, dolphins swam around them while slapping tails on the water just to distract the sharks and keep the swimmers safe.
What can kill a dolphin?
There are various natural predators that can kill dolphins. These include-
- Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier)
- Bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas)
- Dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus)
- Great white sharks (Carcharhinus carcharias)